Pride and Joy
by Mariamus
Summary: G1 short fic - Megatron faces captivity and humiliation at the Autobot camp, and Optimus Prime is blinded by his own goodness. Please R/R


This is an old fanfic I wrote a few years ago. I like it, and I hope you will too. The errors have been corrected. And I _think that I got 'em all. Enjoy!_

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**Pride and joy**

Megatron was standing proud, looking over his great troops and he knew that they feared and respected him. He loved the feeling from being on the top of everything. He was the greatest of them all. He was Megatron, a victorious master. Or at least.. That's how he wanted it at the moment.

The big crowd of shouting Autobots screamed curses down on the beaten and chained Megatron, while he was dragged through the city, down to the prison-cells. The Autobots were throwing things at him, howling and hitting him. He fell on his knees one time, making the crowd go wild. Megatron felt like he was about to break down. He couldn't handle all the shouting and beating. He was leaking energon out the nose, and the Autobot holding the chain was not going to help him up. He looked up and saw a glimpse of Prime and his daughter in a window. Then someone slapped him in the face.

Mariamus was looking coldly down at the scene. She watched for a few moments.

"Aren't you going to stop this?"

Optimus shook his head.

"He only gets what he deserves."

Mariamus turned her head to Optimus.

"This is mad. They'll kill him before he even gets down to the cells. You can't allow this."

Optimus looked at his daughter. He was confused by her words. Was her sympathy only based on the fact that Megatron once had been her father. He nodded.

"I will not interfere. Megatron wouldn't do that for me!"

Mariamus snorted.

"How would you know? The Cons have never done this to you. They didn't dare to!"

She turned around and walked down the main stairs. Optimus turned and watched the crowd. He couldn't see Megatron for a few minutes, then his head came up among the crowd. He'd gotten up on his feet, but he was knocked down again in no time.

Mariamus pushed her way through the Autobots and suddenly she was standing in front of Megatron, He looked beaten and he was leaking almost every where in his head. The bots moved and circled around them. The Bot that had held the chain had let go and left Megatron in the middle of the crowd. Megatron looked up at Mariamus. He looked at her face, she looked mad, but there was something about her face he couldn't describe.

Some of the bots yelled at her to beat him, hit him, kick and shoot him. She sighed and extended her hand to him. The crowd went silent and they whispered to each other. Megatron's mind was pulsating. Was it a trick, would she help him up, and then hit him somehow. He was afraid, but she was still the only one that had at least tried to help. He took her hand and she helped him up, She looked around at the crowd.

"Listen to me! All of you!"

The crowd was silent.

"I will not see any of this any more! If I do... I will personally punish the ones who started it. This is not entertainment. It is a ridiculous attempt to be mighty. I am disappointed that all of you would even sink this low!"

The bots were all silent; Mariamus supported Megatron out of the crowd and followed him down to the prison cells. She closed the door and started to clean his wounds in the head. All the time he'd been silent. He'd just looked at her. Then he finally spoke.

"Why did you do that? You could have let them kill me?"

Mariamus looked down in the water bowl, the water was mixed with energon. She shrugged.

"It was too low to do that, and I knew no one would interfere, or stop it. Not even your troops would do that. It's disgusting."

Megatron sighed as Mariamus stood up.

"Thank you."

She shrugged and turned to leave, but Megatron grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I really mean it. Thank you."

She turned her head to him.

"You're welcome."

She freed her hand and walked out the cell. She emptied the water bowl and put it away, then she walked up the stairs and met Optimus. He looked at her. She swallowed nervously, expected him to yell at her, and questioning her why she did that, why she had helped the Decepticon's leader. Instead of all that, Optimus said in a calm tone.

"I don't know what to say!"

Mariamus looked up at him in surprise.

"Say what you feel? How mad you are at me."

Optimus shook his head.

"I won't yell at you for doing that. I don't know why you did it. But it was noble. I think, that even the worst person, deserves a rightful treatment. It's his rights. And what the Autobots did, it was wrong. I never really thought of that. I think I was blinded by the fact that we're the good guys, and I must've been in a trance, that told me that all we did was right, even the most low and terrifying thing was ok. Cu'z we're the good guys, we never fail."

Mariamus ran a hand through her hair, still chewing on her dad's words.

"Wow.. that was some speech dad. You should tell it to the Bots so they will know that what they did was wrong."

Optimus nodded and brought an arm around his daughter's shoulders, he smiled down to her.

"I love you M! I guess you keep your head cool when I don't"

Mariamus grinned.

"And you keep cool, when I don't. We level out each other dad."

Optimus smiled and gave her shoulders a light squeeze.

"I guess you're right!"

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Please R/R *S* and please be nice :D


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